


My Hero Alchemist

by SoraMoto



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alchemist!Izuku, loose references to FMAB
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26501092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraMoto/pseuds/SoraMoto
Summary: Several thousands of years ago human beings had the knowledge of alchemy. However at some point in the distant past a cataclysm occurred that set mankind back to the bronze age and wiped the knowledge of alchemy from history.In the present Midoriya Hisashi is an archaeologist and comes across the ruins of Amestris. He sends his son copies of some of the runes and drawings he finds. Izuku soon learns how to read them and teaches himself alchemy. Using this new skill Izuku and his family register him with a quirk, Atomic Manipulation.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

Izuku Midoriya tries to put on his usual excited smile for his Papa on the other side of the computer screen. It was their weekly video call that Hisashi insisted on so he could see his little boy despite his work keeping him far from home. It's the first time they’ve spoken since Izuku went to the doctor to find out about his quirk, or rather his lack of a quirk.

“I’m sure it will get better Izuku. People were quirkless for centuries, millenia even, before quirks even were a thing.”

“But, but I want to be a hero, like AllMight.”

“Hmm, well what kind of hero is AllMight then, I seem to have forgotten.” The older Midoriya smiles softly at his son as he tries to understand his wants.

“He’s always saving people with a smile!” Izuku briefly gains his usual energy before deflating again, “But even mom didn’t think I could still be a hero.”

“Hmm, well I guess I’ll have to talk to your mom about that, but you know what I think?”

Izuku looks at his Papa curiously.

“I think, if that is the kind of hero you want to be, one that saves people with a smile, then you can do it. You don’t need a quirk or even big muscles to save people and you’re already great at smiling.”

“You really think so Papa!”

“I know so.” Hisashi smiles at his son, happy to see the spark return to his eyes as his smile becomes less strained. “Would you like to hear a story I came across during my work.”

Izuku nods and leans forward, curious about what his father had found.

“It was a story about a boy that saved the whole country he lived in. He wasn’t much, but he was smart and tenacious and it was these skills that let him stop a god from destroying his homeland.”

***

Several months later Izuku is in the park. He had been playing with Katsuki, but the other boy had left him behind to go play hero with his other friends. Telling Izuku he should just stay behind since that’s what citizens do.

So here he is doodling in the dirt with a stick. He starts with a circle, carefully adding elements from the images his father had sent him of runes carved into stone. He’d been told they didn’t know what they were for, but were trying to figure it out.

Completing his drawing Izuku looks at the image, head tilting to the side before hearing his name called.

“Deku!”

Izuku looks over his shoulder to see Katsuki camping back with a big grin on his face, the other boys nowhere to be seen.

“Kacchan? Are you done playing heroes?”

“Tch, of course, those losers could hardly even keep up with me.” Katsuki looks around to see the circle Izuku had been drawing. “What are you doing in the dirt?”

“Ah, oh, I was just drawing some of the pictures Papa sent me.”

Katsuki moves over to crouch beside the image, staring at it in confusion. “What is it supposed to be?”

Izuku grins and puts both his hands on the edge of the circle. “Papa doesn’t know, but I think some of the runes refer to stuff like ground and fire,” Suddenly the drawing starts to light up and give off small sparks before a lump forms in the middle shaped like a small fire made of dirt. Both boys stare at the small creation before Katsuki turns to Izuku with a wide grin.

“Do that again!”

Izuku nods and does the same thing on a clear patch of ground, but nothing happens. They both frown as tears well in Izuku’s eyes. 

“Maybe you need that weird circle?”

Nodding, Izuku draws another circle and does as before, placing both hands on the outer edge and thinking about fire this time. The glow happens again and the ground takes the shape of a small fire once more.

“That’s great Deku! You finally got a quirk!”

Izuku stares at the two small creations and the circles. “But the doctor said I couldn’t.”

“He must have been lying then. Or he’s just stupid. You have a quirk!”

Izuku draws another circle, but doesn’t put his hands on it. “Kacchan, will you try doing it? I just want to try something.”

Shrugging Katsuki puts his hands on the circle and a pair of figurines forms front he ground after the circle lights up. It's Izuku and Katsuki as heroes, both standing proud and smug.

“Wha, hey, so do you just have to draw the circle then and anyone can turn it on?”

“I don’t think so. I think it's something anyone can do. I said it was from Papa’s work, he said they were all over the place in the ruins he was working on. I think it's some kind of magic they must have had.”

“Magic isn’t real.” Katsuki looks at the three circles, their small shapes in the middle, then back at Izuku. “If it's not a quirk, and it's not magic, what is it?”

“I should ask Papa, he may know.”

Katsuki nods and the two make their way back to Izuku’s apartment. They go straight to Izuku’s room where he has a small desk with a laptop, a recent gift from his dad so they could have the video calls more easily. Izuku opens the device and pulls up an email, carefully typing into the video calls built in messenger service.

‘Papa, I got the circle rune thing to do something weird.’

Both boys settle back and wait for Hisashi to respond. In the hour or so that they end up waiting Izuku starts doodling other circles, mumbling about trying different combinations of the runes to see if they work differently.

At one point Inko comes in and leaves the two a tray of sandwiches, smiling in confusion at the odd drawings taking up the small desk.

A ping sounds from the computer and both boys snap to attention, Izuku quickly clicking in the video call.

“Papa!”

“Hey there Izuku, oh and Katsuki. So what did you two boys learn about those symbols?”

“They make stuff!”

“It was cool! We thought Izuku had gotten his quirk, but then I did it too!”

Hisashi blinks at the pair of boys, confused at what has them so excited. “Well can you show me what you mean?”

Izuku is grinning and nodding as he grabs one of the drawings he had made and puts it on the table, hands quickly going to the edge of the circle as he tries to activate it. Only when the circle lights up nothing happens.

“Aww, why didn’t it work?”

Hisashi is staring wide eyed at his son as he pouts. Even if nothing had happened, the light show was still impressive.

“That’s incredible Izuku! What did you do earlier though, because even if this one didn’t work,”

“He made the dirt into little fire shapes, light statues!”

“It was like magic Papa!”

A passage Hisashi had come across during his study of the ruins with the strange circles came to mind, one about equivalent exchange and knowing what something is made of.

“Izuku, the circle you drew earlier, what did it look like?”

“Hmm, well I had the drawings for ground in it,” Izuku trails off and looks at his collection of drawings and then around his room. “Oh was I using the wrong ones?”

“You understand them?”

Izuku tilts his head at his dad. “Yeah, they weren’t that hard, they wee pictures and they look a little funny but it makes sense. There are ones for water, metal, wood and rock. I was just playing around with the one for the ground at the park.”

“But we don’t know what to call it since it's not a quirk and it can’t be magic since magic doesn’t exist, right Uncle?”

Hisashi chuckles lightly, “No, magic doesn’t exist Katsuki. But, hmm, I’n not sure what exactly it is you’re doing. I’ll need to see what I can find. Izuku, do you think you could get your mother to help you send me what each symbol means so I can use that in my research to find out what exactly this is?”

“Yeah!”

“Alright, I have to get back to work then Izuku. You boys behave yourselves?”

“We will.” The two chorus before the call is ended.

***

Over the next several months, just before Izuku is set to turn six he gets a call from his father, they’d finally found a name for this skill that Izuku has been playing with.

“It's called alchemy, it was some kind of science back when this civilization was around. From what we could find it was used for just about everything; construction, repair, even as a weapon. Oddly enough it wasn’t until I reviewed that old myth I told you about last year that I realized they called the boy an alchemist. He used this science to save his whole country Izuku.”

“Wow, that’s so cool Papa!”

‘It really is.” Hisashi looks at his wife, sitting beside their son. “As I said though this is as dangerous as any quirk today. Inko we need to register him with a quirk for this. It could be bad if people realized it wasn’t a quirk.”

“What do I even call it?”

“Atomic manipulation? Molecular restructuring? It basically rearranges the atomic structure of something into a new form, it can even change things from one material to another as long as the material is present for the change, stripping electrons and neutrons from an atom or adding them on. I mean legends say you can turn lead to gold with alchemy. I’m just not sure what is within the realm of possibility anymore. I will do more research here, try to figure something out.”

“Right, thank you dear. I’ll make sure to get that filed soon.”

That year for his birthday his parents set him up with martial arts lessons. With a new ‘quirk’ and the want to be a hero with his best friend they both figured it best to sign him up for lessons.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to make this multi chapter when I first posted it, I hope no one discouraged by that.

Izuku is nine years old when he makes a discovery he hadn’t realized he’d been waiting to make.

“Kacchan! I think I found a way to get a quirk!”

“You already have a quirk, dumbass.”

“No I don’t.” 

Katsuki rolls his eyes and rocks back while gripping his ankles in his seated position. 

“Anyway. I found a circle that lets you change a person.”

“Are you sure that’s what it does, this isn’t going to be like when you tried that one circle on the tree and wound up drawing out all the water from it, is it?”

Izuku frowns at his friend and goes back to drawing the large circle in the dirt of the woods behind the playground near their homes. “It won’t be, I promise. I double checked this one.”

Izuku tosses the stick aside, his circle completed. Nodding in satisfaction he looks it over as he carefully makes his way to the center.

“Wait, Izuku, why are you standing in it?” Katsuki is sitting up straight, eyes wide as Izuku kneels to place his hands on the circle.

“Cause I’m changing myself. I can do this Kacchan, just wait, when I get done I’ll have a quirk!”

Izuku activates the circle, the familiar blue light starting up before slowly shifting to red, soon shadowy tentacles ending in tiny hands start to come out of the ground as a giant eye opens beneath Izuku. The smaller boy’s wide eyes meet his friend’s and his scream is cut off as he dissolves away leaving the small clearing empty.

***

Izuku opens his eyes to an enormous white space with no end. In front of him is a small figure made of the same white void.

“Where, where am I?”

“Oh wow! I have to say, it's been quite a while since I had a visitor.”

“Who are you?”

“Who am I? I go by many names. I am the world, I am the universe, I am truth, I am also you.”

Izuku swears he can see this being smiling at him and he takes a nervous step back, bumping into something. Turning around shows and enormous door made of some strange black material.

“Why am I here?”

The being laughs lightly. “You are here because you want something.”

“A quirk?”

“Hmm, yes, but that is not something I can give you.”

“Ah, but I just need to get rid of my extra toe joint, if I get rid of that I can get a quirk of my own!”

Izuku isn’t sure how, but he knows the being is grinning at him now. “Oh, is that all little alchemist.” The being laughs some more. “You simply wish to get rid of something like that? I can certainly help you with that, in exchange I will give you knowledge. I look forward to seeing how you use it.”

“What?”

The door is opening and Izuku feels those strange tentacles reaching out for him once more. The wrap around him, pulling him back through. As the door starts to close he looks his eyes onto the being once more.

“It was nice to meet you little alchemist, you remind me of another little alchemist I knew. I wonder if you can live up to his story and show me what you are made of.”

The door slams closed.

***

The circle is glowing again and Katsuki watches with wide eyes as his friend rematerializes and then falls to his side on the ground.

“Izuku!” As soon as the light leaves Katsuki is kneeling beside Izuku and trying to wake the other boy up. That’s when he notices the smell. It's strong and metallic. Looking around he realizes it is coming from Izuku’s feet. Blood is seeping through his shoes and Katsuki tries not to panic.

“I’m gonna be a hero, I can’t be scared of a little blood.” Slapping his cheeks he repositions Izuku so he can carry the smaller boy on his back and makes his way out of the woods toward the playground.

As soon as he is there he starts calling for help.

“Help! Izuku! He did something with his quirk and it hurt him!”

The other kids on the playground stop and stare, the parents of some of the younger children hurry over to see what is wrong and notice the blood. Soon one is on her phone calling for an ambulance while another helps to pull off Izuku’s shoes to see where the blood is coming from.

“His feet! Oh my god!”

Katsuki stares in horror at seeing his friend only with half of each foot. Three toes on one two on the other starting at his pinky toe on each, is missing. He would like to say he could handle it, but Katsuki is soon retching and being turned away as sirens blare in the background.

How is he going to tell Auntie?

***

The next time Izuku wakes up he is staring at a white ceiling with soft lights and a steady beeping to his side.

“Hmm?”

“Izuku!” Soon he is looking into the worried eyes of his mother as she leans over him. “You’re awake!” She squeezes his hand.

“Mom? What happened?”

“Oh sweetie, Katsuki said you tried something in the woods with your quirk.”

“It's not,”

“I know honey, but please,” Izuku knows what she means, pretend it's a quirk, keep the secret safe so the past won’t repeat.

“It didn’t work.”

His mother runs a hand through his hair. “I know, I’m sorry Izuku. The doctors say they can’t do much more than they have. They did recommend a good prosthetic though. It will take some getting used to, but it won’t be too hard to deal with.”

Izuku’s brows squint and he looks up at his mom. “What do you mean?”

“Your feet, they’re half gone. It should only affect your balance until you get used to the prosthesis, but won’t be too much of a hindrance after that.”

“My feet? What do you,” Izuku’s eyes widen as suddenly the memories from his time with that strange begin to surface. He sits up in shock. “The toe joint!”

“Izuku?”

“It took my toe joint, on both feet!”

“Izuku!”

Izuku looks over at his mother, noticing the frown on her face. “Please tell me you weren’t trying to use your quirk to get rid of the extra joint in your toe?”

“Oh, um, well,”

“You are grounded!”

Izuku has the decency to look sheepish at the angry look on his mother’s face. 

“I can’t believe you would do something so reckless. I know you still wish you had a normal quirk, but this isn’t how you go about it. Two weeks, two weeks after you get out of the hospital, no going out to play with Katsuki, no games, no quirk usage. If I see you drawing another circle before then I will make it longer. Am I understood?”

“Yes Mom.”

“Good. Now, I think Katsuki is waiting outside the room for you to be awake. You scared him to Izuku, he’s been worried sick for you since he carried you out of the woods.”

Izuku watches quietly as his mother goes to the door to let in his blond friend. The taller boy soon crawling into the bed beside him to give him a hug.

“Idiot! I was so worried. Don’t you ever do that again. You hear me? I’ll explode you if you ever try it again.”

“Ok Kacchan, I won’t try it again. I promise.”

Katsuki gives him a short nod before hugging him again.

***

After he was released and his punishment concluded, Izuku is still getting used to his prosthesis. It's only half his foot, but that half is less flexible than the other half and is causing problems for his martial arts lessons.

“It's just so frustrating Kacchan.”

“I get it, but you’re the one that did something stupid, just be glad it was only half of each foot.”

Izuku goes back to drawing in his notebook, he is trying to capture the image of the being that he ran into during the transmutation. It was strange, after he went through and came back he had so much more knowledge about alchemy. Most of it he had no context for, making it useless to him, but he had started a new notebook to jot down his fleeting ideas and notes about what he saw and experienced. The gate was the first thing he drew, then notes about what he was shown in exchange for the missing parts of his feet.

“I know, but still.” Izuku knew it could have been much worse, but supposes since he was trying to get rid of something anyway and the knowledge he was given isn’t doing him much good that it was an even trade.

His father had been the only person other than Katsuki that Izuku felt comfortable to tell about the being he met, mostly because if anyone could tell him what that being was it would be his dad.

“Alright, that’s enough moping. Lets go train or something, you need to figure out how to draw your circles while fighting.”

Izuku grumbles, the two getting up from their spots at the picnic table in the park.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be quick enough though, they’re just too complicated to draw every single time. Maybe I should do what everyone is always saying and just go into support. I can’t fight very well with my feet messed up, I can’t use my alchemy in combat, I can’t really do anything.”

Katsuki turns around, his hand whipping out to grab the front of Izuku’s shirt and reel him in so they are nose to nose.

“What was that, you’re going to give up!”

Katsuki pushes Izuku back, the shorter boy almost losing his balance, but managing to stay on his feet.

“I never took you for an idiot Izuku, or a quitter. Even before you learned this shit and found a way to have a quirk, you never gave up on wanting to be a hero. You want to save people right? You save them and I beat up all the bad guys. Victory and Hope that’s what we’re going to be. So you aren’t allowed to give up on me. You got that?”

Izuku looks at his friend, the blond huffing as he glares at the green haired boy.

“Yeah, I understand, thanks Kacchan.”

“Good, now lets go train.”


	3. Chapter 3

“As third year students it's time all of you started to think seriously about what high schools you want to go to next year.”

Izuku glances up at their teacher, shoulders hunched in slightly but curious nonetheless.

“What am I saying, of course you all want to go on the hero track!”

Dramatic as always their teacher throws the papers he was about to pass out up into the air so they all flutter down into the first few rows of students. Izuku ducks his head at the loud cheers of his classmates as they try to show off their quirks to one another.

“Don’t lump Deku and I in with the rest of these losers!”

The class boos at Katsuki as he leans back in his chair, hands holding the back of his head as he leans back in his chair.

“We’re going to be top heroes, the rest of you will be lucky to make it as some lameass sidekick to some d-list hero.”

“Oh, that’s right, you and Midoriya are hoping to get into UA.”

“What!”

“No way!”

“That school's top tier.”

“Bakugou might have a chance, but there’s no way Midoriya could make it with his quirk.”

Katsuki’s hands explode and Izuku flinches.

“You extras better watch your mouths. Deku’s ten times better than any of you.”

“Yes, yes. Please sit down Bakugou, you’ll need a good record from the school to get into UA.”

Katsuki sits down with a grumble as the teacher gets the class focused back on what they are supposed to be doing. 

Of course, Izuku still stays hunched in on himself. Even though he discovered that he could now clap his hands a few years back, shortly after his encounter with Truth, he still struggled to use his quirk in any sort of combat. He spent most of his time researching and drawing circles for his transmutations. He was the kid with the nerdy quirk and no one let him forget that such a quirk would be useless to a real hero.

***

“Can you believe this nerd thinks he can make it as a hero?”

Izuku hunches over his notebook and phone as he scrolls through a few articles on this morning’s villain attack. Every now and then he jots down notes on what the pros could have done better and what he might have been able to do in a similar situation. From what he could tell the villain was a first time offender with a mutation quirk. He’d been fired from his job recently and felt he had nothing to lose from turning to villainy. So, he’d tried swiping some woman’s purse, not realizing there were heroes nearby. Things had quickly gotten out of hand as the heroes postured for the civilians before attempting to apprehend the villain. The poor guy had panicked and that lead to a bigger mess and more heroes coming in to detain him.

To be fair most of that was from the online forums Izuku is part of for his analysis hobby. Video footage of the event starting shortly after the villain was spotted by the hero showed Kamui giving a grand speech about not stealing before attacking the man. He dragged it out by not immediately apprehending the criminal and handing him over to police.

Honestly, it was like heroes these days cared more for their image than doing their jobs or de-escalating a dangerous situation.

“Hey, you better not be ignoring us nerd.”

A hand slams down onto his notebook and Izuku slowly looks up to lock eyes with one of his classmates.

“What are you even writing in this thing that has you so caught up?”

Another classmate picks up his notebook, waving it around as if trying to taunt Izuku with it.

“Too bad your little guard dog isn’t here to protect you right now. I saw he left as soon as class was over.”

Izuku bites his lip, he wouldn’t give in to their taunts.

“Tch, whatever.” The boy with his notebook tosses it out the window before walking away, the other boy following him. “I don’t get what Bakugou sees in you. All you ever do is hold him back. Maybe you should do him a favor and just take a swan dive off the roof, it would go a long way in making you someone’s hero.”

The boys laugh as the leave the now empty classroom. Izuku’s fist clenches at his side and he slowly makes his way down to the grounds under the window. There he finds his notebook in a koi pond being nibbled on by the fish. He gently shoos them away before picking up the soaking paper and staring at it for a long moment, tears threatening in his eyes.

With a quick clap and the signature blue sparks of his transmutations activating, Izuku releases a puff of steam as he heats up the water to quickly dry the pages. It's not completely dry and there are wrinkles and smudges, but it's not sopping wet anymore.

Heaving a sigh he begins the trek home.

***

Izuku struggles against the viscous liquid holding him captive as the villain forces himself town the teen’s throat.

‘If I could just bring my hands together,’

His vision goes black for a moment as the clatter of a nearby manhole cover makes itself known. Soon after a strong wind splatters the villain across the pavement. Izuku is left hacking as he forces the remnants of the villain from his body.

“Sorry about that young man, I’m usually better at keeping others out of my villain chasing.”

Izuku blearily looks up to spot AllMight as he stands straight from scooping the villain into an empty soda bottle.

“AllMight!” Izuku’s voice cracks, the sound grating on his own ears from how hoarse he is after almost being drowned in the villain’s body.

“Ahah! I’m glad to see you’re alright then.” The hero bends down and picks up Izuku’s transmutation notebook before pulling out a pen and flipping to a clean page. Izuku stares in shock as AllMight signs the book and hands it back to him. “I highly recommend getting yourself to the nearest clinic, I would escort you there, but I must get this villain into police custody as soon as possible.”

“Wai, Wait!” Izuku’s voice cracks as he tries to reach out for the number one hero. Unfortunately AllMight either doesn’t hear him or is ignoring him. Either way when the hero takes off, Izuku finds himself clinging to his leg as the pair fly away.

***

“That was a very dangerous thing to do young man. Now I’m sure someone inside will let you in and you can make your way safely to the street.” AllMight prepares to launch himself away once more.

“Wait! Please, I just need to know. Can someone without a quirk become a hero like you?”

AllMight pauses at the words, his body shrinking with a poof as the boy continues.

“I’ve been lying to everyone, faking a quirk I don’t have. I know heroes shouldn’t lie, but when they knew I was quirkless it was so hard. I just, I want to be hero like you, but I’m not sure I ever can be. So please, do you think I can be a hero too.”

Izuku looks up after confessing and asking his question only to see a skeletal man with blonde hair wearing AllMight’s clothes.

“What?”

Looking around Izuku tries to figure out what just happened, only for his eyes to land back on the scrawny man.

“AllMight?”

With a heavy sigh, AllMight drops to the ground and tries to relax. “It's me. Sorry if I startled you.”

“What happened?”

“Hmm,” Allmight lifts up his shirt to a gasp from Izuku. “About six years ago I was in a fight with a villain. I managed to win, but he ended up leaving me this wound. I’ve lost half my respiratory system and my stomach. I’ve had too many surgeries to count trying to fix it. It left me unable to do hero work for more than a few hours each day.”

Izuku stares, his mind racing to process this new information. His hands twitch at the thought that maybe he could use his alchemy, but he clenches his fist to stop himself. As much as he wants to heal his idol, he doesn’t know what the cost would be to return to Truth in order to do so.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I won’t say anything to anyone.”

“That’s good. Now as for your question. You say you’re quirkless, but found a way to fake a quirk? Even if you’ve managed to convince your peers, I doubt you could use it effectively against villains. You’re better off trying for something else, maybe a detective or a doctor.”

AllMight slowly gets to his feet and heads for the door. “It's all well and good to dream, but you need to be realistic.”

Izuku slumps in on himself as the hero leaves, his mind spiraling as the words play over in his mind. He’d always suspected this would be the answer he got if he admitted the truth to someone. His alchemy was hard to use and unwieldy, his classmates were right to say he couldn’t make it as a hero.

Boom!

Izuku’s head springs up as he looks for the source of the explosion. A dark plume of smoke is filling the sky near the shopping arcade. Izuku’s instincts have him lurching forward to go watch before his mind catches up and stops him. There isn’t really a point in him going, is there?

Making his way off the roof, Izuku wanders aimlessly. His mind drifts to the various incidents when he’s been told he can’t be a hero, from his mom right after he was diagnosed quirkless, to his classmates. Hearing his idol tell him he shouldn’t try, it hurt more than the rest.

Boom!

Izuku looks up, that one was closer than before.

‘Oh, I must have wandered this way out of habit.” 

Making his way through the crowd, Izuku tries to see what is going on. He picks up snippets of conversation from the bystanders before catching site of the villain that had hold of him earlier.

‘How did it get away from AllMight!”

“Why aren’t the heroes doing anything?”

“It's got a kid hostage, some middle schooler.”

“Oh, that poor boy.”

Izuku watches, his eyes taking in the scene of the heroes on site standing by as someone fights to breath in front of them.

‘Backdraft is here, shouldn’t he be using his quirk to water down the villain, the fires will only get worse the longer the victim struggles. They need to get him out,” A red eye locks with Izuku’s and before the green haired boy knows what he’s doing his feet are carrying him through the crowd and past the barrier the heroes are maintaining.

‘Kacchan!’

Shrugging off his bag, Izuku takes aim and slings it at the villain's face. He briefly considers using his quirk, but he isn’t sure which array to use that won’t hurt Katsuki or possibly kill the villain.

The bag’s corner strikes the villain in the eye and Izuku lunges to scrap the muck from Katsuki’s face.

“Kacchan!”

The goop is pulled away and Katsuki takes a gulp of fresh air as Izuku struggles to pull him free.

“What the hell Izuku?”

“You looked like you needed to be saved.”

“You brat! Stop interfering.” A large appendage is raised above their heads and Izuku tenses, his hands flinching toward a clap, but before he can do more AllMight is there, blocking the blow and grabbing both boys to yank them free as he uppercuts the villain into a splatter all around the alley.

***

Izuku is dragging his feet as he and Katsuki walk home. They’re both filthy with a nasty taste in their mouths from their separate encounters with the villain.

“Thanks.”

Izuku looks up to spot the faint pink on Katsuki’s cheeks even as the blonde stoically keeps his eyes forward.

“I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing, you needed help. The heroes,” Izuku cuts himself off, he knows he shouldn’t criticize the heroes. They knew what they were doing after all, he can only get in the way.

“They were useless. We’ll be better though. We won’t let a villain hurt someone if we’re there to stop it.”

“Uh, yeah. Better.” Izuku’s gaze drops back to watch his feet drag across the pavement.

“What’s wrong?”

Izuku flails as Katsuki suddenly is in his face, a worried frown maring his features.

“Nothing’s wrong, it's just, well maybe I would be better off going into support or maybe as a detective helping you out behind the scenes.” His grip tightens on the straps of his bag. “I mean, my alchemy,”

“I am here! Blech.”

Izuku’s eyes widen as Katsuki’s look over his shoulder to see the deflating hero as he spits up blood.

“What the hell?”

“Ah, um Young Midoriya. I was hoping I could have a moment of your time?”

“What the fuck!” Katsuki is grabbing Izuku and pulling him away from AllMight with a glare.

“Ka, Kacchan, it's alright. It's AllMight.”

“AllMight doesn’t look like that!”

“You know those guys at the beach that suck it in to look more buff? I’m like that.”

Katsuki stares in disbelief at the tall blonde, still not believing him, but more confused now than upset.

“It's fine Kacchan, he really is AllMight.” Izuku is finally able to turn around and face the injured hero. “What did you want to talk about AllMight.” The smile he gives is strained. He really doesn’t want to get yelled at again for being reckless.

AllMight bends at the waist, “I would like to start with an apology. I was wrong to say you couldn’t be a hero. You possess the true heart of a hero. If you hadn’t jumped in to save your friend I’m not sure I would have had the strength to do so myself. Seeing you charge in so selflessly, it inspired me and I was able to come to your aide.”

“You told him what!” Izuku latches onto Katsuki’s arm as the taller boy stomps towards AllMight, hands crackling with his quirk. “What the fuck! His quirk is awesome, he’s going to be a great hero!”

AllMight gives Izuku a look at his friend’s outburst, Izuku can’t bring himself to meet either's eyes.

“Kacchan, it's ok. I , I told him.”

“You, you told him?” Katsuki’s anger deflates. He still looks upset, and his glare is locked on the older man, but he stops his rampage.

“I take it your friend is aware you’ve been, uh, faking your quirk?”

“Yes. I know it's wrong, but,”

“An intelligence that is able to mimic a quirk is nothing to sneeze at my boy. You just may need something a bit more to become the hero I know you can be. Which is why I would like to make you my successor.”

Both boys stare blankly at the hero.

“Come again?”

“Seeing as you trust your friend here with your secret, I figure he would be a good person to know this one as well. It will give someone your own age you can talk to about things once we start your training.”

“Wait, hold up. What the fuck do you mean you want Izuku to be your successor? And what was that bullshit about an intelligence quirk?”

Allmight blinks in confusion while Izuku puts his chin in his hand, thinking.

“Well, what other kind of quirk could he be faking?”

“Ah, I, I never showed you!” Izuku looks around but doesn’t see anything he can easily use his alchemy on without causing any problems. “Uh, well we registered it as Atomic Manipulation. I can use a skill I learned to rearrange the atomic structure of an object. It's a bit unwieldy though and I can’t use it in combat. I’ve been trying to work it into the martial arts I’ve been taking since I was younger, but I can’t get it to work well.”

“Atomic, Manipulation?” AllMight clearly isn’t sure what to make of this strange confession. “Are you certain it's not a quirk?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Anyone can do it if they learn the circles, even Kacchan.”

“It's a pain for anyone but Izuku though, anyone else would need to draw the circles first.” He jabs a thumb at Izuku, “But this lucky nerd figured out how to internalize that and now just has to clap his hands.”

“Hmm, I see. Well back to the other question you had, I would like to make Young Midoriya my successor. You see my quirk isn’t like other quirks, it was passed on to me. Like a torch carried from one person to the next it's power grows stronger with each new generation. As it was passed to me, I would like to pass it on to you.”

“Are, you sure? I’m not really anything special.”

“My boy, you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

Katsuki jabs Izuku with his elbow and gives him a pointed look. Izuku knows this is a good deal. Train with AllMight and gain his quirk, it all but guaranteed him a spot at UA.

“Alright, I’ll do it. I accept your offer.”

“Excellent! Let’s exchange numbers and then meet tomorrow morning around eight at Dagobah Municipal beach to begin your training.”

“Training?”

“Of course, we need to build up your muscles if you’re going to be able to accept my quirk. If I just gave it to you know the power might blow you to bits.”

“We’ll meet you there then. Izuku can so you his trick there as well since it's just a bunch of trash.”

“Wonderful!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wound up longer than expected and has to be broken into a second chapter, sort of. Next time we get the ten months of hell and the UA exam.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Izuku and Katsuki are stepping through the piles of rusted parts and plastic bottles littering the beach of Dagobah Municipal Park.

“Over here my boys.”

The two spot a hand waving at them from around a pile of trash and make their way over and around.

“Glad to see you both made it.”

“Of course we did.”

“What sort of training are you going to have us do AllMight?”

“Haha! To start with, why don’t you show me this trick of yours that lets you fake such an interesting quirk?”

Izuku nods eagerly before looking around and spotting an old microwave. Walking over to it he claps his hands and with a flash of blue light the metal casing of the microwave is a small AllMight statue.

“That is quite impressive. Are you certain it's not a quirk?”

“Yeah.”

“Here, let me show you.” Katsuki walks over to an old fridge with a marker. Tapping the side he starts drawing a circle. Once the circle is done he presses his hands to it and a crackle of blue light appears before the metal has taken the shape of Katsuki in his imagined hero costume.

“Amazing.” AllMight stares in shock. “That’s quite the skill. Are you only able to manipulate inorganic materials, or would you be able to heal someone, close a wound?”

Izuku flinches, hard. This reaction does not go unnoticed by the two blonds.

“I take that as a ‘you tried and something went wrong’?”

Katsuki crosses his arms with a scoff. “Yeah, he tried getting himself a quirk when he was younger and wound up losing half of each of his feet.”

The grimace made by AllMight at learning this was clearly sympathy. “I see. I suppose then we should avoid that for now.”

Straightening his back slightly from the hunched position he had taken during the short explanation, Izuku looks up to AllMight. “So what do I need to do in order to accept your quirk?”

“Well you’ll need to get some muscle on you. It's not exactly a strength quirk, but it functions similarly enough that we can use that as a base.”

“It's not a strength quirk?”

“What kind of fucking quirk do you have?”

“Ah,” Allmight looks a bit taken aback at the simultaneous questions from the boys. “Well it's a stockpile quirk. Each person that holds it cultivates it and grows it as it is passed down. I’m the eighth holder of this quirk. You, my boy, will be the ninth.”

“A stockpile quirk?” Izuku rests his chin in his hand and looks toward the sky as he thinks about what Allmight’s just shared. “So, does it stockpile people’s quirks too? Or has everyone that has wielded it been quirkless?”

BLinking, Allmight looks lost, glancing between both boys, one seeming to be thinking about his questions while the other is raising an eyebrow at him waiting for an answer.

“I haven’t had any experience with other quirks showing up and the other holders weren’t quirkless.”

Izuku nods, “So it only stockpiles the power.” Izuku drops his hand and smiles. “I’ll work hard then. Where do I start?”

*

The next ten months see Izuku spending his free time clearing the beach under Allmight’s direction. During this time, Allmight also coaches Katsuki in his own preparations for the UA entrance exam.

Both boys push themselves, sometimes going too far and getting scolded by the older man.

Before they know it it is the morning of the entrance exam and both boys grin at each other on the train as they approach the school.

“What do you think the practical will be?”

“Hmm, well a lot of students are applying so it doesn’t make sense to do something small or individual. It may be similar to the first round of the sports festival UA hosts each year.”

“What, like an obstacle course or elimination contest?”

“Yeah, something like that. It likely leans more toward combat though as opposed to more subtle quirks. If you look at the ratio of students accepted from the general exam and the kinds of quirks they have,”

“But there are students that get in with less combat oriented quirks.”

“Yeah, but most either transfer into the hero course or are recommendation students.”

“Well good thing we have the perfect quirks for this.”

“Yeah.”

Katsuki gives Izuku a side eye, “Look you met with the old man this morning right?”

“Yeah.” A green tinge comes over Izuku’s face as he thinks about his meeting that morning with AllMight.

“So you have it, right. Not to mention your other quirk.”

“I still don’t know if I can use that well in combat. It feels slow and clunky.”

“Look, I bet once we get in that the teachers will help you find a fighting style that works for you. The dojo was limited, it only taught basic shit, the pros all have fighting styles that work with their quirks, so a school like UA must have teachers that can help you develop a style of your own.”

“You’re just saying that because you found a style that works for you.”

Katsuki shrugs as the train comes to a stop. “I got lucky.”

The two step off the train and make their way toward a tall hill on top of which sits a large building with gleaming glass towers.

“I still can’t believe we get to see UA today. It feels so surreal.”

“Well don’t let it distract you. We’ll be used to it soon enough.”

Grinning, Izuku looks around as they pass through the school’s gate, his eyes on anything except where he is going. Katsuki has pulled ahead of him, neither noticing right away, when Izuku’s foot catches on his other foot and he feels himself toppling to the ground. With a yelp he squints his eyes shut as he prepares for the impact with the ground, only instead of falling he seems to be floating.

“I’m sorry I used my quirk on you without permission, but it would be bad luck to fall.”

Izuku feels himself being righted before gravity returns and his feet are solidly on the ground.

“Shit, Deku, you alright?” Katsuki is hurrying back toward him as the girl that helped him smiles.

“I’m fine Kacchan. Thank you for your help. I guess I’m a bit nervous about today’s exam.”

“Oh, it's no problem. I’m glad I could help. Good luck on the exam.”

The girl runs off as both boys watch after her. 

“Come on, let’s go, we don’t want to be late.”

*

Izuku stands in the crowd outside of his testing facility as they await the start of the practical exam. He tries to take this time to look around at the other participants when he spots the girl that helped him earlier.

‘I should really thank her again.’

Going to take a step he is stopped by a heavy hand on his shoulder. Turning he spots the boy that scolded him earlier for muttering during the explanation of the practical. He can feel his face heat up at the stern look the taller is giving him.

“If you’re planning to distract that girl, it might be better not to. It's clear she’s trying to focus on the upcoming exam.”

“Ah, uh. I just wanted,”

“And start!” Izuku is interrupted by Present Mic’s announcement and is soon turning to head into the mock city at a light jog. “Don’t just stand around, there are no countowns in real life.” Izuku is the first through the gate, but others soon pass him as they run into the city.

Looking around, Izuku spots one of the robots from the pamphlet they’d been given and prepares to clap and send a spike of concrete through it. Unfortunately another student shoots a laser through it before he gets a chance.

“Merci, thank you for making a distraction for me.”

Izuku watches the blond run off with a wink in his direction, a frown on his face at having his first robot smashed out from under him. He takes a deep breath though and soon manages to find another couple robots, this time he’s able to smash them with his alchemy. He walks over to the remains, examining them for a moment before clapping to determine their material. He grins when the metal shifts and is soon off again.

He finds more robots, smashing them with concrete or running by after clapping his hands and causing the legs to fall apart before doing the same to the whole body. By the time he gets to the center of the mock city he’s managed a decent number of points. Looking around he sees chaos as other examinees battle robots, smashing them with their quirks. 

As he stands there watching, the ground begins to shake before a three story tall robot is smashing through a building into the area where most of the students have gathered. Many students are now running away from the giant robot and as Izuku turns to follow he hears a pained grunt from behind him.

Turning back he spots the nice girl that helped him, pinned beneath several chunks of rubble as the robot inches toward her.

Without a second thought, Izuku is running. He can feel a stirring inside him and with a little extra push he’s jumping at the robot, launching himself high into the air. His fist clenches as he pulls it back, lightning crackling along it. As he reaches the apex of his flight, his body level with the robot’s head, he swings down, punching the head of the machine and crushing it. The robot is blown back by the force, tumbling over backwards as Izuku begins falling toward the ground.

‘Crap, what am I going to do. I need to,’ Izuku notices his arm and leg flapping in the wind, broken beyond recognition almost. Tears well in his eyes as he tries to think of something, anything to slow his fall. With one arm broken he can’t use his alchemy and so he begins to panic. Right as he’s about to crash into the ground he feels a slap to the face and instead of slamming down, he stops falling, floating inches above the ground.

“Release.”

Izuku drops the last few inches and looks up to spot the nice girl from before puking onto the ground, draped over a piece of the robot.

His vision soon swims with black before he loses consciousness and passes out.


End file.
